A U.N. ballistics inspection team Tuesday began long-term monitoring of a major Iraqi missile center, an unprecedented presence that the team leader said would be virtually permanent.
Iraq has told the United Nations that all of its long-range missiles have been destroyed in accordance with the Persian Gulf War cease-fire terms requiring the elimination of the country's weapons of mass destruction.But Western intelligence sources have said Iraq may be hiding as many as 100 Scud missiles. The U.N. Special Commission, which is enforcing the weapons-destruction provisions, also seeks to prevent Iraq from reviving its missile program.
"I would not say permanent, but something like continuous or long-term," team leader Nikita Smidovich told reporters when asked about the duration of monitoring at the missile center.